I’m a character designer and visual artist who enjoys bringing imaginative worlds, expressive characters, and thoughtful visual systems to life. My work spans character design, illustration, visual development, interface design, storyboarding, and animation, with experience developing concepts from moodboards and early sketches through polished final artwork. I enjoy collaborating with clients and creative teams to refine ideas and create visuals that support a story or game experience. I have contributed to indie game projects by designing characters, expressions, poses, logos, user interfaces, tutorial graphics, cutscene artwork, and marketing materials. I’m comfortable working across Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere, Live2D Cubism, Maya, GitHub, and Toon Boom, and I bring a research-driven, adaptable, and friendly approach to every project.…

Joelle Dakanay

I’m a character designer and visual artist who enjoys bringing imaginative worlds, expressive characters, and thoughtful visual systems to life. My work spans character design, illustration, visual development, interface design, storyboarding, and animation, with experience developing concepts from moodboards and early sketches through polished final artwork. I enjoy collaborating with clients and creative teams to refine ideas and create visuals that support a story or game experience. I have contributed to indie game projects by designing characters, expressions, poses, logos, user interfaces, tutorial graphics, cutscene artwork, and marketing materials. I’m comfortable working across Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere, Live2D Cubism, Maya, GitHub, and Toon Boom, and I bring a research-driven, adaptable, and friendly approach to every project.…

Available to hire

I’m a character designer and visual artist who enjoys bringing imaginative worlds, expressive characters, and thoughtful visual systems to life. My work spans character design, illustration, visual development, interface design, storyboarding, and animation, with experience developing concepts from moodboards and early sketches through polished final artwork. I enjoy collaborating with clients and creative teams to refine ideas and create visuals that support a story or game experience.

I have contributed to indie game projects by designing characters, expressions, poses, logos, user interfaces, tutorial graphics, cutscene artwork, and marketing materials. I’m comfortable working across Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere, Live2D Cubism, Maya, GitHub, and Toon Boom, and I bring a research-driven, adaptable, and friendly approach to every project.

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Work Experience

Character Designer / UI Artist at Asphedel Demo (Studio Clump project)
January 1, 2024 - Present
Rebooting an Asphedel Demo project; created mood boards, floral-inspired UI; researched medieval typefaces; designed a floral-inspired UI; collaborated on cutscenes; created tutorial graphics for a point-and-click mini-game; produced a game trailer with After Effects; created marketing graphics for conventions and the press kit.
GUI Designer / Artist at Studio Clump
January 1, 2023 - Present
Worked on the Stillwater project: researching horror-game aesthetics for GUI and logo, sketching character designs and expressions, animating assets for character sprites, and preparing color passes for final rendering.
Freelance Character Designer at Someone Stole My Lunch!
January 1, 2022 - October 3, 2025
Sketching character designs, expressions and poses; created character sprites with color passes before final rendering; animated facial expressions (mouth flaps and eye blinks); collaborated on cutscenes; sourced typefaces for the office workspace; used Illustrator, Photoshop, and Clip Studio Paint to develop the UI and logo.
Co-founder / Character Designer at Studio Clump
January 1, 2021 - Present
Indie game dev group; created mood boards reflecting client aesthetics, produced initial sketches, and iterated designs; designed characters, UI and logo concepts; collaborated on cutscenes; produced a game trailer with After Effects; created marketing graphics for conventions and press kit.
Founder / Character Designer at Studio Clump
January 1, 2021 - Present
Co-founded an indie game development group. Designed characters and sprites, animated facial expressions, mouth flaps, and eye blinks. Created UI/GUI assets, logos, and promotional materials. Collaborated on cutscenes and background assets.

Education

BFA in Computer Animation and Interactive Media at Fashion Institute of Technology
January 1, 2016 - January 1, 2018
BFA at Fashion Institute of Technology
January 1, 2018 - October 3, 2025
AAS at Fashion Institute of Technology
January 11, 2030 - October 3, 2025
BFA in Computer Animation and Interactive Media at Fashion Institute of Technology
January 1, 2018 - October 3, 2025

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Software & Internet